Engineering Progress
Virgin Galactic correcting technical problems from December attempt
Virgin Galactic has postponed its next attempt to reach space from southern New Mexico until May to allow engineers to first fully correct technical problems that led to failure of the VSS Unity’s last attempted spaceflight in December.
After extensive analysis, the company found that electromagnetic interference caused the spaceship’s onboard computer to reboot during its flight in December, triggering a safety mechanism that immediately shut down the rocket motor and forced the ship’s two pilots to abort the mission and glide back to Earth.
The company is now testing and installing new components to eliminate electromagnetic interference before attempting another rocketpowered flight from Spaceport America, which could take about two months, Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said during a year-end earnings call with investors Thursday.
As a result, the long-awaited Unity flight with company founder Sir Richard Branson on board won’t happen until the summer.
And launch of commercial service to fly paying passengers to space likely won’t begin until early fall.
But the delays demonstrate the company’s “unwavering commitment” to a safety-first culture, Colglazier told conference participants.
Had the December flight been successful, the company planned to conduct a second spaceflight with four crew members in the passenger cabin early this year, followed by Branson’s flight in late March.
In fact, after determining the cause for December’s aborted mission, engineers made technical adjustments to lower electromagnetic interference, encouraging the company to open a new flight window this month for another attempt to reach space.
But during pre-flight checks, engineers still detected elevated interference levels, prompting the company to make more modifications and evaluate and assess the changes on the ground before re-initiating test flights, said Mike Moses, president of Virgin Galactic space missions and safety.
Despite the delays, the company remains focused on upcoming flight tests and the potential for commercial launch in the coming months, Colglazier said.
“We’ve pushed the next f light test out by eight or nine weeks, but we remain on the same flight program as before,” Colglazier said. “We’re on path for our next test flight in May, and then two more flights over the summer, with our first passenger-loaded flight by late summer or early fall. We’re being prudent to first get the electromagnetic interference issue taken care of.”
Meanwhile, the company is also pushing forward on many other fronts, Colglazier said. That includes a new stage in Virgin Galactic’s manufacturing plans to build more spaceships in preparation for commercial launch.
The company’s second spaceship is already assembled and will be rolled out March 30 to begin ground testing, followed by glide tests and then rocketpowered test flights.
Assembly has also begun on a third craft. And the company is now designing next-generation “Delta Class” passenger ships that will be made with more efficient manufacturing processes based on engineering lessons from building the first ships. That will allow the new class of spacecraft to be built faster to scale up production for a fleet of spaceships.
The company will also make upgrades to the VMS mothership, which carries the Unity on its underbelly to about 50,000 feet, where the spacecraft breaks away and fires up its rocket motors to shoot to the edge of space at 50 miles up. And it’s begun planning to build more motherships alongside the new Delta Class passenger craft.
The company expects to eventually provide up to 400 passenger flights per day at Spaceport America and at other launch facilities that Virgin Galactic plans to build in other countries.
“It will be a multiyear effort to get to 400 flights per day,” Colglazier said.
The company is also adding new revenue-generating commercial services that will allow government agencies to fly multiple payloads to space with their own scientists and astronauts on board. That service includes real-world training for astronauts, starting with an initial contract already signed with the Italian Air Force for a first flight in late summer or early fall, Colglazier said.
The company hired two new engineers this month to lead Virgin Galactic’s transition from its previous status as largely a research-and-development company into an advanced manufacturing firm that’s ready to scale-up production for global commercial service. Virgin Galactic announced the new appointments Thursday morning.
“We expect them to lead and grow a world class engineering team to head our new spaceship development program,” Colglazier said.
The ramp-up in manufacturing will require significant capital investment.
The company won’t begin earning steady revenue until it launches commercial service. But it’s raised substantial private investment after going public on the New York Stock Exchange in fall 2019, placing it on firm financial footing to manage needed manufacturing expenses going forward, said Chief Financial Officer Jon Campagna.
“Our balance sheet remains strong,” Campagna said. “We ended 2021 with $666 million in cash and cash equivalents.”